OK anyone got advise on cleaning the outside of a diff. I've suffed up the drive shaft orrifices with old pairs of pants and given the thing a tooth brushing over with parafin. I've got a SIP splot blasting gun but thats like trying to empty a lake with a spoon.

The general loose grime comes off but the old and crusty stuff doesn't want to budge before being subjected to hammerite.

Anyone tried Cilit Bang or other limb eating cleaning products?

I did mine with Spectroklenz which is basically just a degreaser. Then attacked it with a stiff brush to remove the loose crap, then just painted it with hammershite.

David

I cleaned the outside by scrapping the grease/grime chunks then brushed with paraffin (or was it petrol).

One that was done, cleaned inside with a toothbrush and flushed several times to get rid of any dirt from the outside that got in.

Wire Cup Brush after diesel/parrafin... wear safety gargoyles.

It's a long and thankless task but it's worth it in the end. You could always buy a new one?

Steve

Hi,

I cleaned mine in degreaser first, but then to get all the decent crap out I started using wire brushes in drills.

"the tool" couldn't get in there very well, and then I couldn't get in all the nooks and crannies with the wire brush in the drills, so I came up with what I thought was a good idea!

I put some tape round a piece of wire rope and then cut through it with some snips, put it in a drill and voila - you just peel back as much of the tape as you need for the job you want... you have to keep the drill on forwards as if you put it in reverse it will unravel the wire rope...

here's a pic to explain better!




[Edited on 13/2/07 by worX]

WorX,

What a throughly bloody good idea! Wish I'd thought of that!

I spent ages with a set of toothbrush sized wire-brushes! Getting in the corners was a real problem.

If you really care about doing a good job then blasting it is probably the only sensible way really.... but is it really worth it for summat that's hardly going to be seen?

Cheers,
James

Sod all that.

Aerosol brake cleaner and wire brush.

Ten minutes and your diff will come up like new.

Tried everything else and nothing compares.

Honest.

Pat...

I made sure all the seals were ok and new oil and bunged it in as it came out of the donor.

IMHO not worth the effort cleaning them up

Aye, I'm planning to paint it in hammerite. I have some bright green smooth that I need to use up.

Had a lucky moment later on, SWMBO came back from Argos with a cheap ass steam stripper. It comes with a nice brass brush nozzle too, she said I could give that a try. Works a sodding treat but not very good for nooks and cranies.

The idea of the wire rope sounds a corker. Gonna have to give that a go even if just to take my finger prints off by accident

Throw a load of drain cleaner on mine, then pressure washed off after a few hours, all the rubbish just fell away

[Edited on 12/2/07 by mark chandler]

If people want a couple of inches () I'll get some next time I'm in work and post it for you, thats if it's still in the maintenance shop where I spied it last!!!

wire rope

If people want a couple of inches () I'll get some next time I'm in work and post it for you, thats if it's still in the maintenance shop where I spied it last!!!

u2u sent